Electronic circuitry contained on printed circuit boards of the type found in computers and other similar electronic equipment are usually interfaced to adjacent equipment by means of multi-contact electrical connectors. Such printed circuit boards are typically crowded with circuitry and related components making it necessary to conserve surface space. In certain instances two multi-contact connectors must be provided, such as for example, a control card for controlling a printer wherein the printer may have either a serial port or a parallel port. This requires two different connectors on the control card. Each of these connectors requires a certain amount of space on the board for electrically attaching the solder tails of the connector contacts to the control circuitry and, additionally, requires space for securing the two connectors to the board itself.
In an effort to economize board space in these instances where two electrical connectors are required to be mounted on the same printed circuit board, the two connectors may be vertically stacked, one over the other. An example of such a stacked arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,856 which issued Nov. 7, 1989 to Maxwell. There a pair of L-shaped brackets are arranged side by side on a printed circuit board with the two connectors mounted to the two vertical legs of the two brackets. An insulating block is provided between the two brackets having holes therethrough in registry with the solder tails of the connectors for guiding the tails to their points of contact with the board. Flared eyelets are used to attach the connectors to the two brackets, while the brackets are attached to the board by means of conventional boardlock devices. Another example of a stacked arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,984 which issued Sep. 3, 1991 to Mosser et al. Mosser et al. discloses a pair of cast or molded brackets that attach to the mounting flanges of two electrical connectors and also attach to the surface of a printed circuit board by means of conventional boardlock devices. The two brackets each have an eyelet extending through a through hole in the bracket and through holes in the connector flanges, the eyelets being flared to lock the assembly together. An insulated spacer plate is secured to the lower ends of the brackets and has holes for receiving and spacing the solder tails of the upper-most connector. Both of these arrangements include multiple parts that must be stocked and assembled, resulting in additional complexity and cost to manufacture. What is needed is a low cost, stacked connector assembly that has fewer parts and is simple to install to the printed circuit board.